Two important points from DU30'S SONA!

I had a grand time watching the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte at the Batasan Pambansa in my TV where he spoke for over two hours. Since a two-hour speech is quite long to put in one column, allow me to feature, what for me is the most important issues that President Duterte mentioned in his SONA.

In my book, Duterte is the first president of this country to publicly talk about the infamous Balangiga massacre, which happened on September 28. 1901 during the Philippine-American War (in the US, the official name of this conflict is the Philippine Insurrection) when Filipinos armed with a few rifles and mostly bolos surprised and overran American troops in Balangiga, Samar, and killed 48 US troops in what has been dubbed as the bravest Filipino encounter in that conflict.

In retaliation for that attack, US Navy ships came into the shores of Balangiga led by the USS New York with General Jacob H. Smith who brought in fresh US troops and ordered the killing of Filipinos 10 years old and above or anyone who was old enough to carry a firearm. All of Samar was turned into one big concentration camp. Filipinos who did not enter the concentration camps would be shot on sight. It was one of  the darkest times during the Philippine American War called the Samar Pacification.

While in Samar, the US troops took the bells of the Balangiga Church as war booty. I understand that one church bell remains in the possession of the Base of the 9th Infantry Regiment in Camp Red Cloud, South Korea, while two other bells remain in the former Base of the 11th Infantry Regiment at the Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Why the Americans refuse to return those bells is a million-peso question.

But in his SONA, President Duterte asked for the return of the Balangiga Bells saying, "Give us back those Balangiga Bells. They are ours… it belongs to the Philippines. They are part of our national heritage! Please return it as it is painful for Filipinos." I hope that henceforth, RP-US relations should be put on record that America must return those bells if our official relations should go further. So literally the ball or should I say the bell is in the court of the US. Will President Donald Trump return those bells and end up feeling weakened by this act?

The next issue I'd like to point out is the president's frustration with his friends in the National Democratic Front. When President Duterte declared that he would no longer talk with the communist rebels, even if he still vowed to pursue peace even up to his last days in office, he said, "Sometimes I am almost tempted to conclude that peace might not be able to come during our lifetime. But believe me, it will not be for want of trying." He even mentioned what the left-wing Kadamay group did when it occupied housing intended for the soldiers. He gave in to them in the hope that it would show to the communists his sincerity.

Yet as we all know, the New People's Army continued its attacks against our soldiers and the latest one where the NPA ambushed a convoy of Presidential Security Group which guards the president was the last straw. We have known all along that the communists would always be willing to sit down during peace talks as they use this occasion to recruit more members. But like what I've been saying, the leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines like Jose Maria "Joma" Sison probably don't have full control of the cadres fighting in the hinterlands, which is why the NPAs continue their ambuscades against our soldiers.

While the president made this official stand not to talk with the Reds, after he made his SONA, he went out of the Legislative Building where he faced the Leftist protesters and even tried to tell them he was still willing to talk to their group despite his statements. Unfortunately the Leftist protesters only jeered at President Duterte, the first time that a group that President Duterte faced showed no respect for him. Lest you have forgotten, the Left are but a minority in this political game.

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